WHERE: The fact that Covid-19 will become endemic does not mean that it will no longer be dangerous

The mere fact that the Covid-19 pandemic will enter an endemic stage at some point does not mean that the virus will no longer be dangerous, the World Health Organization (WHO) head of emergency response warned today.

“People are talking about a pandemic against endemic disease, but endemic malaria is killing hundreds of thousands of people, HIV is endemic, endemic violence is in our cities,” Dr. Michael Ryan told an online panel at the World Economic Forum. .

“Endemic in itself does not mean it is good, endemic just means it is here forever,” he said.

The appearance of Omicron, which is much more contagious than all other variants of Covid-19 but appears to cause less severe symptoms in those who have been vaccinated, has sparked debate over the pandemic – which was declared such in early 2020 – in an endemic form. A discussion that generally implies that it will be less dangerous.

“We will not get rid of the virus this year,” Ryan warned. “We may never eradicate the virus. Viruses that cause pandemics tend to become part of the ecosystem.”

“What we can end is the state of emergency for public health of international interest (the highest WHO alert level),” he said, adding that it was “necessary to achieve the lowest possible impact rate with the maximum number of vaccinations.” so that no one can prevent deaths “.

“This will be the end of the state of emergency and the end of the pandemic,” Ryan added.

He also raised the possibility that in the future three or four vaccinations may be considered the normal number of doses to avoid the most serious forms of Covid.

With the exception of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, all vaccines are dual-dose, but the third booster or “booster” dose is highly recommended, as Omicron has flooded the world.

“We will no longer call (these vaccines) boosters. We will just consider that three or four doses are necessary to build this resilient and strong immunity that protects you from hospitalization and death for a long time,” he said.

Source: AMPE